Editor's note:Roland S. Martin,
a CNN political analyst, is a nationally syndicated columnist and
author of "Listening to the Spirit Within: 50 Perspectives on Faith,"
and the forthcoming book, "The First: President Barack Obama's Road to
the White House." He is a commentator for TV One Cable Network and host
of a one-hour Sunday morning news show.

(CNN) -- Civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer made famous the phrase, "I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired."

For
me, I'm sick and tired of Democrats having power and being unwilling to
use it. I've always respected Republicans when they had power because
they were willing to use it and maybe apologize later.

Today,
President Obama walked into the White House briefing room and took some
questions, and one of them revolved around recess appointments.

He has watched Republicans
block many of his appointments, and now he says he made it clear to
them that he will "consider" making some when the U.S. Senate goes into
recess.

"One senator, as you all are aware, had put a hold on
every single nominee that we had put forward due to a dispute over a
couple of earmarks in his state," President Obama said.

"In
our meeting, I asked the congressional leadership to put a stop to
these holds in which nominees for critical jobs are denied a vote for
months. Surely we can set aside partisanship and do what's
traditionally been done to confirm these nominations.

If the Senate
does not act -- and I made this very clear -- if the Senate does not
act to confirm these nominees, I will consider making several recess
appointments during the upcoming recess, because we can't afford to
allow politics to stand in the way of a well-functioning government."

This is where the president needs to show his toughness and just do it. Forget the threats. The actions of Sen. Richard Shelby,
R-Alabama, and other Republican obstructionists will continue if
President Obama allows them to run roughshod over him. When you're the
top dog, you do what you have to do to govern. Allowing Republican
senators to continue to deny your appointments is nonsense.

If
all of them choose to support a filibuster, then you take it to the
American people and show the obstructionists for what they are. You get
your grass-roots movement fired up to stand up and do something. The
political right used its base to go after Democrats who blocked
appointments to the federal bench and other positions. So why not be
just as aggressive?

If there are members of your own party who
stand in the way, such as Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Nebraska, then you also
blast them and make them pay for acting so foolishly.

This
president got rolled by the Senate over health care. His team made some
boneheaded mistakes, and now they are paying for them. Continuing to
play footsie with opponents will only get him into more trouble. He
should set a deadline to have his folks confirmed. If not, appoint them
all during the recess and go on about your business.

Obama's
critics keep blasting him for Chicago-style politics. So, fine. Channel
your inner Al Capone and go gangsta against your foes. Let 'em know
that if they aren't with you, they are against you, and will pay the
price.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Roland Martin.